560_Prahran Town Hall_Interior_2 - a photo on Flickriver

            The Prahran Town Hall complex on the corner of Chapel and Greville Streets may be found in the busy inner suburb of Prahran.  
The complex of buildings that make up the Prahran Town Hall, includes the original courthouse relocated in 1869 as the first Council chamber, and the later 1886 Prahran Courthouse and Police Station which front onto Greville and Macquarie Streets.  

The Prahran Town Hall complex was erected in stages commencing between 1860 and 1861 when Melbourne architects Crouch and Wilson were awarded a £25.00 prize by the Public Works Committee after entering with twelve other competitors for the commission.  Their original bluestone hall complex has been designed in Victorian Italianate style, an architectural movement that was very popular between the mid and late Nineteenth Century.  The prominent central tower with classical balustrading is very typical of the movement, as are its rounded windows, giant order pilasters, asymmetrical facade and general use of classical motifs.  The Victorian Italianate movement gained popularity in Britain and her dominions after architect Thomas Cubitt assisted Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, to design Osborne, the Royal Family's residence on the Isle of White.  The bluestone facades on Chapel and Greville Streets were stuccoed in 1862.  In 1863, alterations to the original town hall tower were planned, so that it might accommodate a clock, supplied by J. Murray and Company or London.  In 1868, the original courthouse was removed and placed snugly behind the town hall’s ballroom and reception room, where it became, in 1869, the first Council chamber.  The later boom style Classicism additions of 1888 were executed to the designs of notable Melbourne architect, Charles D'Ebro.  These included a lending library and an art gallery which were located above a portion of the town hall that was leased to the postal authority for 99 years in return for £5,000.00 towards the cost of alterations and additions to the building.
 
The Prahran Courthouse and Police Station, located adjacent to the Town Hall and on a corner site in Greville Street, was erected around 1886 to the design of prominent Public Works Department architect Charles R. Gilchrist.  The contractors awarded the construction were Furneau, Besley and Angel. The Gothic Revival structure of brick fabric clad with Barrabool stone from Geelong and Moonie Ponds limestone and further enhanced with ornamental ironwork, is a traditionally planned and unusually integrated public utilities complex.  It features beautiful stained glass windows, which allow the courthouse to be a light and airy space.  The finely detailed and well proportioned building is a rare combination of public utilities and, being situated on a dominant corner position, is of streetscape importance in the Prahran Town Hall precinct. 

In January 1914, the Colosseum drapery emporium, on Prahran’s fashionable Chapel Street, caught fire and quickly became a burning inferno.  It was not long before embers started falling on the Prahran Town Hall, destroying its main city hall, adjacent to the Council chambers.  In August of 1914, Messrs Sydney, Smith and Ogg architects were appointed with the task of restoring the hall and alerting the smoking room and dressing rooms into a more open atrium space with cloakrooms.  This latter task was awarded to Mr. W. E. Cooper’s submission which also included converting the caretaker’s quarters into a suite for the Mayoress.
 
In 1955, the final alteration occurred to the Prahran Town Hall’s exterior, when the cupola atop the tower was deemed to be a fire risk, and not wishing for a fate similar to that of the main hall in1914, the Council agreed to have it removed.

Between the mid 1980s and 2009 the Prahran Town Hall complex has been steadily restored and refurbished, presenting the wonderful amalgamation of buildings that we see today, converting some spaces, whilst revealing hidden architectural gems in other places, such as stained glass windows and other original internal detailing. 

Prahran Town Hall was open as part of the 2014 Open House Melbourne Weekend.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Melbourne / Prahran (show map)

Taken on: July 27, 2014

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#560

#560_Prahran Town Hall_Interior_2

interior

2014 Focus Competition « less

Groups appears in: • 2014 Focus Competition

Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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